Transmission system operators Amprion (Germany) and Elia Group (Belgium) have commissioned the Aachen Liège Electricity Grid Overlay (ALEGrO) interconnector, the first power bridge between Germany and Belgium.
Using high voltage direct current (HVDC) technology by Siemens Energy, ALEGrO is capable of carrying around 1,000MW of power. The 90 kilometers long link provides needed grid capacities for cross-border electricity flows including higher shares of renewable energy. Siemens Energy supplied the two converter stations at each end of the line that convert the alternating current to direct current and vice versa. The stations have been erected in Oberzier in Germany and Lixhe in Belgium and are connected by an underground DC cable. Equipped with HVDC PLUS technology based on modular multilevel converters (MMC), the system offers a controlled power supply in either direction.
